ARTICLES ABOUT PLAINTIFFS BY DATE - PAGE 5

The state Department of Education did not breach the court-ordered Sheff desegregation lawsuit agreement, a Superior Court judge has decided. Judge Marshall K. Berger Jr. Monday rejected a claim by the plaintiffs in the Sheff v. O'Neill case that the state failed to meet its districtwide racial-balancing quota in 2009 by improperly calculating the percentage of minority students learning in a racially diverse setting. The decision is the latest twist in the 14-year-old landmark Sheff decision.

It will be 2011 before any of the victims of Dr. George Reardon get their day in court against St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford - at least two years after many had once expected to have the matter behind them. Superior Court Judge William Cremins has set March of 2011 for the start of the first trial. The cases stem from allegations that Reardon sexually abused children over several decades and that St. Francis, where Reardon worked from 1963 to 1993, was negligent in failing to stop him. In the meantime, attorneys will be taking depositions from doctors who were affiliated with St. Francis during Reardon's tenure.

The plaintiffs in the Sheff desegregation lawsuit are alleging that the state is out of compliance with the court-ordered agreement and are seeking to appoint a special master to take over its administration. In a motion filed in Superior Court Friday, attorneys representing the plaintiffs say the state has failed to reach a court-ordered benchmark of teaching 27 percent of the city's minority students in a racially diverse setting this school year. The stipulation was part of a 2008 agreement between the plaintiffs and the state in the landmark Sheff decision.

The state Department of Education said Wednesday that it has made progress desegregating Hartford public schools, meeting an incremental requirement of a court order in the Sheff v. O'Neill ruling. But lawyers representing the Sheff plaintiffs said they will reserve judgment until they have had a chance to review the state's numbers. "We're still evaluating the data," said Martha Stone, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. "While the state is saying the enrollment figures have improved over last year, it's not clear that the state has met the required target in the settlement."

By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN And ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER and The Hartford Courant, October 15, 2009

Lawyers for 49 people who say they were sexually abused by Dr. George Reardon during the three decades he practiced at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center sued the Hartford Archdiocese Wednesday, claiming the religious organization shares responsibility for the abuse. "It's our belief that as early as 1970, both the hospital and the diocese knew George Reardon was a monster and they did absolutely nothing to stop him," said New Haven lawyer Joel T. Faxon of the Stratton Faxon law firm, which represents the plaintiffs.

Lawyers for 49 people who say they were sexually abused by Dr. George Reardon during the three decades he practiced at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center sued the Hartford Archdiocese Wednesday, claiming the religious organization shares responsibility for the abuse. "It's our belief that as early as 1970, both the hospital and the diocese knew George Reardon was a monster and they did absolutely nothing to stop him," said New Haven lawyer Joel T. Faxon of the Stratton Faxon law firm, which represents the plaintiffs.

More than 100 lawsuits involving Dr. George Reardon and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford could be headed to trial after talks to resolve the child sex-abuse cases broke down this week. Plaintiff attorney Michael Stratton said that he and his colleagues will seek to begin trying the cases within six to nine months. The attorneys for 135 people who say they were sexually abused by Reardon plan to move ahead with depositions and seek additional documents from St. Francis, where Reardon worked for three decades.

The case of former Hartford police Officer Robert Murtha, who sued the city after he was cleared of criminal charges, did not go forward Monday as scheduled. The judge assigned to the case was unavailable, said Murtha's attorney, Donn A. Swift. He said that he is waiting for Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Corradino to reschedule. "We're hoping it's this week," Swift said. The city fired Murtha after he shot a fleeing suspect twice in the arm in 2003, charging that he needlessly fired his weapon and then lied to cover it up. In 2006, a jury found Murtha not guilty of first-degree assault, fabricating evidence and falsely reporting an incident.

The legal fight over the alleged abuse by Dr. George Reardon is taking longer than some initially hoped, but lawyers say it remains in mediation and on track. More than 135 people who say they were sexually abused by Reardon are suing St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, where Reardon worked, alleging that the hospital was negligent in failing to stop the abuse. Attorneys for both sides agreed last March to mediate the cases. At the time, Superior Court Judge William Cremins said he hoped the mediation would be completed by the end of 2008.